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Elizabeth Santos
Member Rara Avis

since 1999-11-08

Posts 9269
Pennsylvania

0 posted 2004-01-27 08:31 AM

An Ethiopian Tapestry

I saw the ghost of poverty on foot along a road
Although nothing did he carry, the great burden of his load
Stretched along the dusty miles and wove through the threads of time
And I saw a wondrous tapestry of ugly and sublime

For this land has been degraded as the essence of his soul
But the purpose of survival spawned direction of his goal
I had seen the stark reality of hunger in his eye
And I knew there was a reason that no one could justify

We have met upon the crossroad between poverty and bliss
For both wealth and deprivation dwell in such a place as this
But I came to this Valhalla, not to meet a gentle man
And his mission of the day was not to shake a stranger’s hand

I had stopped beside a phantom, just a silhouette of bones
Standing naked in the sunlight as surrounding shrubs and stones
He was born into a landscape that has long been on my mind
In the gorge of mystic mountains I have traveled far to find

And my instincts were well founded and this meeting well worthwhile
For the two have shared contentment through a universal smile
When he lifted up his arm., I felt a quiver in my spine
As he raised a pointed finger up to nature’s most sublime

As mysterious as the Queen of Sheba, like her regal pose
Just as captivating as the legends of this beauteous rose
Were the mountains etched in glory by the mighty hand of God
Seen along a rural road this stranger many times had plod

It was this I came to capture and engrave on ebon film
Nature’s majesty well tempered in a photographic kiln
By an eye that molds the splendor of a moment caught in time
The most wondrous gifts of life among the ugly and sublime

All was set to etch the wonder that was vivid in my eye
But my camera insufficient for this scene to dignify
So imposing was the glory that no lens could crystallize
The sublime in humble radiance pouring from an old man’s eyes

Elizabeth Santos

Sunshine

Administrator

Member Empyrean

since 1999-06-25

Posts 63354
Listening to every heart

1 posted 2004-01-27 08:35 AM

Oh Elizabeth.
No photo could have ever captured such images!
Bless you!

Martie

Moderator

Member Empyrean

since 1999-09-21

Posts 28049
California

2 posted 2004-01-27 11:25 AM

Agreeing with Sunshine here....This gave me chills...so beautiful and so full of soul!

Seymour Tabin
Member Empyrean

since 1999-07-07

Posts 31720
Tamarac Fla

3 posted 2004-01-27 11:36 AM

Elizabeth,
Simple eloquence, loved it.

Mysteria

Member Laureate

since 2001-03-07

Posts 18328
British Columbia, Canada

4 posted 2004-01-27 01:56 PM

She's baaaacccccckkkkk! And thank goodness, I needed to "see" something pretty, and there you were. Okay calling now

~ Blessed Be ~

Grover
Senior Member

since 2004-01-27

Posts 1967
London, ON, Canada

5 posted 2004-01-27 02:05 PM

Very good! Eloquent!

Marge Tindal

Member Empyrean

since 1999-11-06

Posts 42384
Florida's Foreverly Shores

6 posted 2004-01-27 04:36 PM

LovelyLizzyLady~
You know what ?
You are the perfect poetic cartographer~
*Huglets*
~*Marge*~

~*When the heart grieves over what it has lost,
the spirit rejoices over what it has left.
- Sufi epigram <))><

[email protected]

Enchantress
Member Empyrean

since 2001-08-14

Posts 35113
Canada eh.

7 posted 2004-01-27 04:39 PM

Wow Elizabeth!
No one...but no one uses imagery like you do!
Another keeper for my library!
~Smiles & Hugs~

~ Is that love I see in your eyes...
or merely a reflection of mine? ~

LngJhnAg
Member Elite

since 1999-07-23

Posts 3508
Boot+Kitty=Poetry in motion

8 posted 2004-01-28 08:05 AM

Thank you for sharing this wonderful work, Liz. You will always be somebody I look up to.

NewEnglandlazurlu
Member Rara Avis

since 2002-01-04

Posts 7470
A Mountain Paradise

9 posted 2004-01-28 09:04 AM

Liz, this is just unbelievable! Your imagery is fantastic and I saw every little detail when I read your words.

A keeper to be read again and again.
Huggles and Smiles, Marti

I take no credit for my poems. Although I write them, I feel
more like I transcribe them. It's just a matter of listening.

muted

Member Elite

since 2004-01-15

Posts 2949
Elapsing, Eclipsing, Evolving

10 posted 2004-01-28 12:32 PM

oh wow! just amazing way of sending a shiver of emotion right through me....
wow..i cant even find words to convey how lovely this poem is!

Mistletoe Angel

Member Empyrean

since 2000-12-17

Posts 32816
Portland, Oregon

11 posted 2004-01-28 01:38 PM

(big angel hugs) Oh Elizabeth, this made me cry as I am very sensitive about learning other peoples cultures as I believe every environment and ones culture and geography is characteristic and one must absorb all the emotions and thoughts and history of a culture or geography to appreciate it all and this elderly man you speak of has that flowing in his golden heart, yay! (kiss on cheek) Your love of life and the world is shining here, yay, God Bless You, we all love you so much! You have such a beautiful heart, sweet Elizabeth, thank you for sharing!

May love and light always shine upon you!

Love,
Noah Eaton

"You'll find something that's enough to keep you
But if the bright lights don't receive you
You should turn yourself around and come back home" MB20

Denise

Moderator

Member Seraphic

since 1999-08-22

Posts 22648

12 posted 2004-01-28 11:27 PM

Beautifully done, Elizabeth!

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